July 2019 weather log
Key:
WW = West Wales
Lwn = Llanwnnen
AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry
CL = Church Lawford
ROW = Ross-on-Wye
CC = Capel Curig
MH = Milford Haven
Mids = Midlands
CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire
COL = Climatological Observers Link
PWS = Personal weather station
WW = West Wales
Lwn = Llanwnnen
AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry
CL = Church Lawford
ROW = Ross-on-Wye
CC = Capel Curig
MH = Milford Haven
Mids = Midlands
CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire
COL = Climatological Observers Link
PWS = Personal weather station
Dry start to July became warm and sunny for a time:
Fri 6th third sunny day for many, warm or very warm (max Hereford 27.0c, Watnall 23.2c; Pembrey 22.6c, Lwn 21.4c, Aberporth 17.2c: Wellesbourne 15.1 hrs sun, Aberdaron 14.9 hrs, Lwn est 15 hrs, Watnall 10.1 hrs)
Some showers towards mid month but still mainly dry and rather warm
Sat 13th a rather warm night followed by a cool, mostly cloudy day WW, Midlands nearer average with some sunny intervals. Lwn min 14.2c the warmest of the month to date followed by max just 16.1c the coolest of the month to date! Other maxima: Aberporth 15.8c, MH 18.1c; Shawbury 19.4c, Pershore 22.0c..
Resumption of warmth with some sunshine mid month..indeed a very dry first half to July almost everywhere..July 2019 rainfall to 16th:
Valley, Anglesey 3.8mm
Llanwnnen 2.2mm (just 14.0mm in the past month since June 17th)
Aberporth 2.0mm
MH 1.0mm
Pembrey sands 0.2mm
Mumbles 0.8mm
Shawbury, Salop 3.0mm
Coleshill 12.6mm
Coventry, Bablake 4.4mm
CL 3.4mm
Shobdon, Herefordshire 0.6mm
Fri 19th welcome rain just past mid month, many places getting around half an inch, with over an inch for a few (St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan 40.0mm; Wellesbourne 14.9mm, CL 12.0mm, Lwn 10.3mm)
Mon 22nd warmest night of the year to date for some places e.g. Lwn min 16.7c; other minima Shawbury 18.4c, CL 16.4c; Pembrey 17.8c, Aberdaron 15.2c.. this heralding the start of a very warm/ hot week...
Tue 23rd very hot and mostly sunny, temperatures above 30c for much of the Midlands and parts of Wales: maxima Wellesbourne 32.8c, Sutton Bonington (Notts) 31.8c, Coventry 31.3c, Lwn 30.8c, Pembrey Sands 30.3c, Trawsgoed 30.0c, Aberdaron 23.5c. At Llanwnnen max 30.8c was only the hottest in July for one year (30.9c in 2018). Thunderstorms with spectacular lightning displays and locally torrential downpours spread up from the south late evening lasting into the night. No overhead storm here at Lwn but treated to several hours near constant lightning from storm cells tracking north across central Wales between 15 and 50 miles to the east. Coventry and much of the Midlands had even more spectacular (and for a time overhead) storms in the early hours of Wednesday
Wed 24th warm night again especially Midlands, minima CL & Coventry 18.3c, Shobdon 16.9c; Mumbles, Swansea 17.4c, Aberporth 14.4c, Lwn 14.3c...
Thu 25th another very mild/ warm night, minima Mumbles 18.6c, Lwn 14.2c, CC 12.8c; Nottingham 17.0c, Shobdon 12.6c. Very warm or hot with sunny periods WW; Midlands in exceptionally hot air with record temperatures in places. Max 35.2c at Coventry beat 35.1c from August 1990 to become the hottest day on record in the city (began 1892)! Other maxima Wellesbourne 36.2c, Nottingham 36.1c, CL 34.8c, Shobdon 30.0c; Gogerddan 31.2c, Trawsgoed 30.6c, Lwn 29.6c, Aberporth 27.0c, Aberdaron 23.1c. The UK record appears still intact with the highest reported thus far 38.1c at Cambridge (record still 38.5c Brogdale August 2003,,,BUT see below!). The record probably only prevented by patchy afternoon cloud cover and localised storms.
Some showers towards mid month but still mainly dry and rather warm
Sat 13th a rather warm night followed by a cool, mostly cloudy day WW, Midlands nearer average with some sunny intervals. Lwn min 14.2c the warmest of the month to date followed by max just 16.1c the coolest of the month to date! Other maxima: Aberporth 15.8c, MH 18.1c; Shawbury 19.4c, Pershore 22.0c..
Resumption of warmth with some sunshine mid month..indeed a very dry first half to July almost everywhere..July 2019 rainfall to 16th:
Valley, Anglesey 3.8mm
Llanwnnen 2.2mm (just 14.0mm in the past month since June 17th)
Aberporth 2.0mm
MH 1.0mm
Pembrey sands 0.2mm
Mumbles 0.8mm
Shawbury, Salop 3.0mm
Coleshill 12.6mm
Coventry, Bablake 4.4mm
CL 3.4mm
Shobdon, Herefordshire 0.6mm
Fri 19th welcome rain just past mid month, many places getting around half an inch, with over an inch for a few (St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan 40.0mm; Wellesbourne 14.9mm, CL 12.0mm, Lwn 10.3mm)
Mon 22nd warmest night of the year to date for some places e.g. Lwn min 16.7c; other minima Shawbury 18.4c, CL 16.4c; Pembrey 17.8c, Aberdaron 15.2c.. this heralding the start of a very warm/ hot week...
Tue 23rd very hot and mostly sunny, temperatures above 30c for much of the Midlands and parts of Wales: maxima Wellesbourne 32.8c, Sutton Bonington (Notts) 31.8c, Coventry 31.3c, Lwn 30.8c, Pembrey Sands 30.3c, Trawsgoed 30.0c, Aberdaron 23.5c. At Llanwnnen max 30.8c was only the hottest in July for one year (30.9c in 2018). Thunderstorms with spectacular lightning displays and locally torrential downpours spread up from the south late evening lasting into the night. No overhead storm here at Lwn but treated to several hours near constant lightning from storm cells tracking north across central Wales between 15 and 50 miles to the east. Coventry and much of the Midlands had even more spectacular (and for a time overhead) storms in the early hours of Wednesday
Wed 24th warm night again especially Midlands, minima CL & Coventry 18.3c, Shobdon 16.9c; Mumbles, Swansea 17.4c, Aberporth 14.4c, Lwn 14.3c...
Thu 25th another very mild/ warm night, minima Mumbles 18.6c, Lwn 14.2c, CC 12.8c; Nottingham 17.0c, Shobdon 12.6c. Very warm or hot with sunny periods WW; Midlands in exceptionally hot air with record temperatures in places. Max 35.2c at Coventry beat 35.1c from August 1990 to become the hottest day on record in the city (began 1892)! Other maxima Wellesbourne 36.2c, Nottingham 36.1c, CL 34.8c, Shobdon 30.0c; Gogerddan 31.2c, Trawsgoed 30.6c, Lwn 29.6c, Aberporth 27.0c, Aberdaron 23.1c. The UK record appears still intact with the highest reported thus far 38.1c at Cambridge (record still 38.5c Brogdale August 2003,,,BUT see below!). The record probably only prevented by patchy afternoon cloud cover and localised storms.
Fri 26th warm night, thunderstorms parts of Midlands, with TL reported from Coventry with very localised downpours, min Lwn 17.4c being the third highest recorded (all of these warm nights being in July). Other minima Nottingham 19.5c, Coventry 18.6c, Market Bosworth 17.8c, Shobdon 13.1c; Mumbles 18.5c, Aberdaron 16.2c. Much less warm by day with inland temps generally 22 to 25c. Provisionally, Cambridge Botanic Gardens recorded 38.7c yesterday, which if accepted, and after scrutiny by the Met Office, would be the new UK record!
Sat 27th big change for much of the Midlands to cloudy and cool with rain at times; WW mainly dry and bright with average to rather warm temperatures (Pembrey Sands 22.5c, ROW 20.2c, Lwn 20.1c, Aberdaron 16.8c; Hereford 20.1c, CL 18.0c, Shawbury 17.1c)
Sun 28th very cool with spells of rain/ drizzle central and north Midlands, 1-2 inches rainfall for many places north of Coventry since yesterday. SW Midlands and much of WW in contrast dry with sunny periods. Still only 20.5mm rain has fallen so far this July at Llanwnnen, if we don't get much more it may end up the driest July here (30.4mm in 2006 to beat), however more unsettled conditions on the way before month end which may well thwart this. Maxima Mumbles & Pembrey 22.0c, Lwn 19.8c, CC 16.1c; ROW 22.7c, Hereford 22.6c, CL 14.9c, Market Bosworth 14.0c. Wettest place 24 hours to 2100 Market Bosworth, Leicestershire 42.4mm
Mon 29th nice dry, bright and warm day for most, temperatures generally 21-24c WW and 24-26c Midlands; Wellesbourne max 26.7c warmest in UK (also Lwn 25.3c). Cambridge Botanic Gardens reading of 38.7c on the 25th has been verified by the Met Office and so is officially a new UK heat record!
Tue 30th low pressure brought showers or longer spells of rain. Here at Lwn the rain prevented this from being the driest July (see above note ^). 1 to 2 inches of rain for much Warwickshire & the Birmingham area, as well as for parts of WW, although some places saw little rain.. At Bablake, Coventry 33.6mm was the wettest July day since 2007 (38.1mm) and over double the total of 16.2mm at Church Lawford just 10 miles east. Official MO regional highest rainfall totals: Astwood Bank (W Mids) 34.2mm, Market Bosworth (E Mids) 30.0mm & Swyddffynnon (Wales) 27.4mm.
Nature notes
Thu 4th fantastic Nightjars at Llwyndrissi forest above Llanybydder, first one landed just 30m away as we sat half way up the slope at the SW edge of the clearing, and at 2200 it churred loudly, the churring was then prolonged (up to 8 minutes continuous). Within a few minutes of this I witnessed a Green Woodpecker fly past within 10m and start laughing in the near dark from a dead tree trunk, screaming Foxes also nearby within 100m, a Song Thrush singing and Bats of various species flying just above my head - all as it was getting dark with a splendid red afterglow from the sunset! Walking slowly back along the track towards car in near dark (2245) and 300m beyond the original bird (now only faintly audible), two more Nightjars appeared in the gloom flying low above the track, then amazingly swooping down above Pippin and within a few feet of him (he was oblivious). It would seem that his white patterning of tail, nose and paws had them believe he was a rival Nightjar flashing it's white underwing patches! Also they were alighting on the track ahead of us and with Pippin still off the lead eventually he caught sight of one and chased it a short distance. However this did not deter the birds and the male churred again from within 50 m.
Bird song fizzling out as it always does once into July...still the odd Song Sthrush, Chiffchaff, Blackcap though to mid month...
Sun 14th great performance Nightjar pair above Llanybydder on a calm, warm dusk..much churring, flight display and wing clapping..
Still notable Chiffchaff song to mid month, most other birds now largely silent inc Thrush..
Fine Swift displays with improved numbers mid month (max seen in one go about 25 above Lampeter University). The village Swifts seem to be doing well with at least 6 nests with chicks in, as evidenced by poo piles on ground beneath. Yet just a few days later (from 17th) much less evident, much less visible and no large screaming parties (departure of non-breeding 'bangers'?)..
Sun 21st much Swift activity at Aberduar chapel before dusk, 8-10 birds popping in and out of their refurbished nest site on a very dull, mild, windy evening. Some screaming but much less so than a week ago. Then onto the delapidated former woollen mill/ warehouse on Station ave, now at 2100 and near dark, no Swifts seen but some chicks and adults could be heard high above in the nests...not sure it can be many more years before this rather ruinous yet still utilised (lights on within the office room of Wilson's Building Supplies) building is renovated/ demolished?
Tue 23rd what an evening! After the hottest day this year (max 30.8c) fine displays by the Swifts at Aberduar chapel (10-12) then an awesome low flying diplay by 15- 20 birds above Rhydybont chapel, also Llanybydder. Onto the Llwndrissi forest above the village and thousands of flying Ants on the trackways (red and black Wood Ants presumably, bigger than garden Ants). Nightjars put on a fantastic display once more after dusk, watched them for over half an hour as it got dark, churring as close as 30m, visible too at last from churring post on dead tree trunk 100m away, then a low flying bird just above Pippin and my heads, then two males heard churring at the same time, so at least 2 pairs. Territories seem to be 300 or 400m. Still some forlorn Ants along the track in the dark having failed to make take off at almost 2230!
Sun 28th Nightjars still active and churring (started 2145 as it was getting dark on a cool evening), also A Grasshopper Warbler calling from adjacent marchland
Bird song as ever died off second half of July
Mon 29th Swifts seem in low numbers now, however 6 above the village this evening with a bit of screaming, and some of the nests still have chicks calling
Wed 31st contrary to the last nature note, a magnificent screaming display of 25 - 30 Swift above Lampeter Uni at dusk, just about the largest congregation seen all Summer!
July 2019 summary
Rather warm; much of WW very dry, Midlands variable rainfall; rather dull to average sunshine
Rainfall totals
Valley 34.0mm (62%)
Aberdaron c. 40mm (72%)
Llanwnnen 38.3mm (38%)
Trawsgoed c. 48mm (57%)
Aberporth 21.8mm (35%)
Pembrey Sands 28.4mm (38%)
MH 20.8mm (30%)
Mumbles, Swansea 40.8mm (57%)
Shawbury, Salop 38.6mm (73%)
Coleshill c. 94mm (192%)
Coventry, Bablake 75.2mm (127%)
Pershore, Worc c. 58mm (116%)
Shobdon, Herefordshire c. 25mm
Hereford c. 39mm (87%)
Limited Personal Weather Stations (PWS) as Wunderground website faulty:
Llansadwrn, Anglesey 76.1mm
Daventry c. 62mm
Sunshine totals
Aberporth 204.2 hrs (107%
Llanwnnen 170 hrs estimated from webcam captures (about 95%)
Nottingham (Watnall) 159.4 hrs
Shawbury 162.2 hrs (98%)
Coventry, Bablake 176.0 hrs (88%)
Wellesbourne, Warks 159.2 hrs
ROW 164.2 hrs
Sun 14th great performance Nightjar pair above Llanybydder on a calm, warm dusk..much churring, flight display and wing clapping..
Still notable Chiffchaff song to mid month, most other birds now largely silent inc Thrush..
Fine Swift displays with improved numbers mid month (max seen in one go about 25 above Lampeter University). The village Swifts seem to be doing well with at least 6 nests with chicks in, as evidenced by poo piles on ground beneath. Yet just a few days later (from 17th) much less evident, much less visible and no large screaming parties (departure of non-breeding 'bangers'?)..
Sun 21st much Swift activity at Aberduar chapel before dusk, 8-10 birds popping in and out of their refurbished nest site on a very dull, mild, windy evening. Some screaming but much less so than a week ago. Then onto the delapidated former woollen mill/ warehouse on Station ave, now at 2100 and near dark, no Swifts seen but some chicks and adults could be heard high above in the nests...not sure it can be many more years before this rather ruinous yet still utilised (lights on within the office room of Wilson's Building Supplies) building is renovated/ demolished?
Tue 23rd what an evening! After the hottest day this year (max 30.8c) fine displays by the Swifts at Aberduar chapel (10-12) then an awesome low flying diplay by 15- 20 birds above Rhydybont chapel, also Llanybydder. Onto the Llwndrissi forest above the village and thousands of flying Ants on the trackways (red and black Wood Ants presumably, bigger than garden Ants). Nightjars put on a fantastic display once more after dusk, watched them for over half an hour as it got dark, churring as close as 30m, visible too at last from churring post on dead tree trunk 100m away, then a low flying bird just above Pippin and my heads, then two males heard churring at the same time, so at least 2 pairs. Territories seem to be 300 or 400m. Still some forlorn Ants along the track in the dark having failed to make take off at almost 2230!
Sun 28th Nightjars still active and churring (started 2145 as it was getting dark on a cool evening), also A Grasshopper Warbler calling from adjacent marchland
Bird song as ever died off second half of July
Mon 29th Swifts seem in low numbers now, however 6 above the village this evening with a bit of screaming, and some of the nests still have chicks calling
Wed 31st contrary to the last nature note, a magnificent screaming display of 25 - 30 Swift above Lampeter Uni at dusk, just about the largest congregation seen all Summer!
July 2019 summary
Rather warm; much of WW very dry, Midlands variable rainfall; rather dull to average sunshine
Rainfall totals
Valley 34.0mm (62%)
Aberdaron c. 40mm (72%)
Llanwnnen 38.3mm (38%)
Trawsgoed c. 48mm (57%)
Aberporth 21.8mm (35%)
Pembrey Sands 28.4mm (38%)
MH 20.8mm (30%)
Mumbles, Swansea 40.8mm (57%)
Shawbury, Salop 38.6mm (73%)
Coleshill c. 94mm (192%)
Coventry, Bablake 75.2mm (127%)
Pershore, Worc c. 58mm (116%)
Shobdon, Herefordshire c. 25mm
Hereford c. 39mm (87%)
Limited Personal Weather Stations (PWS) as Wunderground website faulty:
Llansadwrn, Anglesey 76.1mm
Daventry c. 62mm
Sunshine totals
Aberporth 204.2 hrs (107%
Llanwnnen 170 hrs estimated from webcam captures (about 95%)
Nottingham (Watnall) 159.4 hrs
Shawbury 162.2 hrs (98%)
Coventry, Bablake 176.0 hrs (88%)
Wellesbourne, Warks 159.2 hrs
ROW 164.2 hrs
